Higgs says he will run province like the Irvings ran their business: from Bermuda

Bermuda — Years before becoming the leader of the Progressive Conservatives, recently appointed Premier Blaine Higgs served 33 years as a senior executive for Irving Oil, a position he is quite proud of, and has mentioned several times along the campaign trail.

Now, as premier, Higgs says that he intends to run the province as K.C. Irving, his idol and mentor, ran his extraordinarily successful oil business.

Namely, by working out of an office in Bermuda.

The Irving aristocrat famously moved to the British territory with his wife as a federal tax dodge in 1971, but Higgs says that isn’t the case for him. Instead, it’s more about getting himself into the late billionaire’s “head-space.”

“The Bermuda Triangle — best place in the world to try and lose yourself,” he quipped, for the third time that evening.

Since the move last Friday, he has received some criticism from his constituents asking, “How can one govern a province they don’t even live in?”

“I’ve lived in New Brunswick all my life,” he explained, waving a dismissive hand. “So, you know…shrinking job market, rampant illiteracy, the Hopewell Rocks…I get it. What’s the point of sitting around in it all day?”

He said that he doesn’t think this will interfere with his day-to-day duties, adding that, nowadays, he can do the job from anywhere in the world.

“With all of this new-fangled technology, it’s like I’m practically there,” he said, holding up a tangle of cords on his desk to demonstrate.

Just then, an incoming Skype call popped up on his monitor. “Oh, there’s a call now! You’ll have to excuse me…”